Benchmarking Procurement Practices in Higher Education

This report focuses on the procurement function within higher education. Since universities are spending billions of dollars on a range of goods and services, it seemed prudent to conduct a benchmarking study of procurement practices across a broad range of colleges and universities. This study seeks to uncover leading practices that colleges and universities across the nation, as well as other nonprofit organizations, may consider adopting as they wrestle with common financial challenges. This benchmarking study reflects the efforts of a unique collaborative partnership between the iBM Center for The Business of government, the iBM Public Sector Procurement Consulting Practice, SciQuest, and the Penn State Center for Supply Chain Research.

Universities and colleges have only recently begun to apply strategic focus to the procurement function over the last five to 10 years. This report captures some of the initial spend management techniques that a number of early adopter schools have implemented to better control their institutional spend. it will provide both a benchmark and a source of ideas about specific procurement practices that a college or university may consider adopting in the future. Supply Chain Management